STARR testing...anyones kid having trouble?

[Chad C]

The proposed cut is 15 to 5 but the fools are worried about perception... I don't see it being reduced that much and its not going away.

[Bear Charge]

As stated previously, I'm not a proponent... I would never group the State, Schools, Districts into like minded thinking because that'll never happen!

Teachers and leadership matter every bit as much as socioeconomic status!

There is a reason hundreds of teachers were recently fired in Dallas.

Teachers and leadership have to adjust instruction and formative classroom assessments to determine student needs. I can see where this is going...."If I can do it, they can do it. It's work ethic/motivation/lack of discipline..... "

Kids who work 60 hours a week to support their disabled/drug addict/incarcerated parents and their siblings have instructional needs that are much different than those in districts where the median household income is pushing $200,000.

Those teachers recently "fired" in Dallas were RIF due to economy. Hence, schools are going to be even more overcrowded, students will get less instruction that meets individual needs and the number of students not graduating on time (or ever) will increase as the demands of the STAAR continue to rise.

Teachers and leaders do matter every bit as much as socioeconomics but their jobs are night and day when you look at the socioeconomic status of their students. Should their efficacy be judged the same? Would you deem someone who shot a 200" deer out of a 10 ft X 10 ft pen to be a better hunter than a man who shot a 140" deer on a 2,000 acre ranch to be a better hunter? Even if you were to answer that they are equally skilled, you are still taking context into account. Why shouldn't we do that with teachers?

[westexasagent]

I was told that if he doesnt go to summer school and take the test again that he will have to repeat 8th grade. Is this true?

[Chad C]

Teachers and leadership have to adjust instruction and formative classroom assessments to determine student needs. I can see where this is going...."If I can do it, they can do it. It's work ethic/motivation/lack of discipline..... "

Kids who work 60 hours a week to support their disabled/drug addict/incarcerated parents and their siblings have instructional needs that are much different than those in districts where the median household income is pushing $200,000.

Those teachers recently "fired" in Dallas were RIF due to economy. Hence, schools are going to be even more overcrowded, students will get less instruction that meets individual needs and the number of students not graduating on time (or ever) will increase as the demands of the STAAR continue to rise.

Teachers and leaders do matter every bit as much as socioeconomics but their jobs are night and day when you look at the socioeconomic status of their students. Should their efficacy be judged the same? Would you deem someone who shot a 200" deer out of a 10 ft X 10 ft pen to be a better hunter than a man who shot a 140" deer on a 2,000 acre ranch to be a better hunter? Even if you were to answer that they are equally skilled, you are still taking context into account. Why shouldn't we do that with teachers?

No, I agree and yet some of these schools still find a way to get the kids to grasp the material?! It's not like all low income areas are failing miserably!

There's more to it. The Dallas teachers were not all due to money, there're a lot of lazy teachers. Everyone thinks they're good at what they do, that's why evaluations are on place.

They're not judged the same, apparently... Some districts lower the standard.

The school my wife teaches at was above and beyond, I'm not using them as a comparison. They were above the state standard and the highest scores in the area. That's above HEB, Southlake-Carroll, Northwest, and other higher socioeconomic areas. Granted her school is predominantly middle class.

[Iansumrall]

Im a junior also i didint have to take a practice STAAR test but from what i have heard from friends is that it is ridiculous

Kevin did you take the English? I took that one and it was a breeze. The English STAAR I thought was more easy than the English taks. And. Yeah I heard the same from my friends that took the math STAAR. They said they guessed on 90% of the questions.

[konahoss]

My daughter got commended in Reading and passed Math. She is a straight A kid. She said the math was the hardest test she had ever seen.

[TxAgHntr]

I think the real question is "Does standardized testing really measure learning?" To many of us teachers, the answer is a definitive "no".

If we look at all(most) other standardized tests (MCAT, LSAT, ACT, SAT, USMLE, Bar etc...) they all (almost) require additional test prep than the actual program in which they are assess. In these cases either the programs didn't prepare them for the job or school beyond it or the test doesn't adequately measure the learning that happen, it measured how many discreet facts can be stored and recalled vs. applied.

More to the story but I am off to church. Carry on.

[Bear Charge]

No, I agree and yet some of these schools still find a way to get the kids to grasp the material?! It's not like all low income areas are failing miserably!You're exactly right. Some affluent schools are failing miserably, as well

There's more to it. The Dallas teachers were not all due to money, there're a lot of lazy teachers. Everyone thinks they're good at what they do, that's why evaluations are on place.

You make a very good point here. There are objective teacher evaluation systems in Texas: Professional Development Appraisal System, Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol...etc. Neither one mentions test results but that's what districts and schools and, by default, teachers are judged by. Therefore, some "lazy teachers" can survive with horrible instructional practices. There are lazy people in every profession and they should be ran out (especially when they are involved with children) but they should be judged by job performance which IMHO should not be measured by standardized, subjective measures.

They're not judged the same, apparently... Some districts lower the standard. The school my wife teaches at was above and beyond, I'm not using them as a comparison. They were above the state standard and the highest scores in the area. That's above HEB, Southlake-Carroll, Northwest, and other higher socioeconomic areas. Granted her school is predominantly middle class.

This is my concern for the future of the profession. Your wife's school has done very well this year. Hopefully, they'll continue that trend for the life of standardized testing. If after four years, those scores drop for one year, the school's rating will be in the paper and there will be those who say they are "lazy" based solely on those 5 days of testing. I'm struggling to think any other professional is evaluated in the same manner. If your wife has taught very long, she will tell you that some classes come better prepared than others and that many years she has worked harder than ever before and seen the greatest gains ever but not the best standardized scores.

I work as a Bilingual/ESL Instructional Strategist employed through a federal grant and spend my time evaluating and providing staff development for teachers who serve English Language Learners. Unfortunately, we are finding that speakers of languages other than English have the same levels of academic English as those who only speak English, especially those in the working class. Politicians don't see this trend but publishers love it. As long as kids fail standardized tests, test makers push "teacher accountability" based on test scores and the legislature buys more and more tests. No of which measure student growth from year to year,

I think our point is generally the same: judge teachers based on performance. For me, however, that performance should be based on intellectual growth not an arbitrary end point.

[Chad C]

I think our point is generally the same: judge teachers based on performance. For me, however, that performance should be based on intellectual growth not an arbitrary end point.

Absolutely! It's very frustrating.

[Joshua Flournoy]

The Passing standard was 50% this year, 65% next year and then 80% in the third phase. These decisions are being made by the same people that have the curriculum refer to our form of government as a Constitutional Republic because they're afraid the term Democracy makes people vote democrat. Politicians, who have never stepped foot in a public school, are not qualified to make these decisions. It won't stop until politicians stop using public education as they're whipping boy while they and their children go to private schools, our children will continue to suffer. With CSCOPE gone, teacher hands will be untied but the assessment system will continue to bring real learning to a halt.

U.S. Constitution - Article 4, Section 4

"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government"

[BrandonH]

My daughter is in all advanced classes and I tell her every year to not stress about these tests. She does nothing outside of what they do in class to prepare for the tests and she scored nearly perfect on all sections. I don't agree with these test hence the reasoning i don't push her. She acts like it's not very hard, but she is also a very bright student.

[Landrover]

My daughter is in 9th grade (mostly AP & PreAP) and got "commended" on 3 of the STARR tests. She takes it in stride & looks at it as part of the game............kinda like her daddy!

[Slow-n-steady]

I was told that if he doesnt go to summer school and take the test again that he will have to repeat 8th grade. Is this true?

8th grade is subject to SSI requirements (state) for math and reading. Students have two opportunities to pass each test during the school year and one more after summer school. If a student doesn't pass math and reading by the third attempt they CAN be held back based on the recommendation of something called the GPC committee. The GPC committee can look at the students performance in class throughout the year as well as their participation in summer school to make their decision. As the parent you would have to be notified of the GPC meeting and have the opportunity to provide your input.

[Dudley]

I was told that if he doesnt go to summer school and take the test again that he will have to repeat 8th grade. Is this true?

That is correct. State law. After taking it a 3rd time, if the student does not pass, a grade-placement committee can choose to promote the student. This applies to 5th and 8th grade, reading and math tests.

[Bear Charge]

U.S. Constitution - Article 4, Section 4

"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government"

Democracy is government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives.

A republic has two forms. It can be a form of government with an elected president instead of a monarch, or as "a form of government in which the sovereign power is widely vested in the people either directly or through elected representatives "

The word "democracy" is not in the Constitution and you are correct about Article 4. However, "We the people of the United States do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America" is falls under both definitions.

Republics are designed to avoid "mob rule" that is possible with pure democracy but the two words are not mutually exclusive. The democratic republic was formed based on the belief in the majority when it comes to electing representatives, in those representatives in Congress and state legislatures passing laws which are beneficial to the majority. The word "majority" is used in the Constitution several times.

Politicians use the word democracy when they want something from the people, and they use the word republic when they don't. The next time you listen to a speech, watch for the pragmatic use of the words. See Union of Soviet Socialist Republic and the People's Republic of China. That is the same thing you are seeing in the nationalization of goods, services and education (see Barack Obama’s Plan for Lifelong Success through Education).

In our democratic republic, the power has shifted to a pure republic of consolidated power where small factions make decisions for us. The two party system makes this obvious:

"I can scarcely contemplate a more incalculable evil than the breaking of the Union into two or more parts." --Thomas Jefferson to George Washington.

And in George Washington's farewell speech, "The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism."